Sex of Unborn Baby.

[##Wardy##]

Following on from below, why do many parents NOT wish to know the sex of their children. Surely, it will be a lot easier to decorate the nursery, buy toys and clothes etc and pre-select a suitable name??

I, for one, would definately want to know ASAP. Any parents out there who waited until birth to see. Is it just the surprise element?

Whats the surprise? My guess it will be a boy or girl.

[ummmm]

I wasn't given the option with my 1st two, with the 3rd I asked straight away!

[kwicky]

In towns like Sheffield the NHS hospital refuses to give the sex of the unborn child. Whether this is to do with religion and where only boys are preferred has not been established.

[rugeleyboy]

i liked the surprise!! i knew my wife was expecting a girl and although i was over joyed when she was born it took the edge off her birth knowing already??

i hope that doesnt sound bad because i love both of my kids equaly!!!

[4getmenot]

I don�t want to know, as what news do you have to tell the rest of the family, just the weight. Unless you keep it quiet from friends and family which is very hard, all my mates slipped up. I just think with myself its like opening a xmas present early.

[cascarelli]

Some hospitals wont in case they get it wrong and get sued

[unruliejulie]

when i was pregnant the first time round back in 1991 it was almost unheard of to tell you what sex the baby was, so it wasnt an issue. I got pregnant again in 2003 and it was always the first question anyone asked, did i know what sex it was. I had no desire to know because to me, it is all part of the joy of giving birth. I know i always feel disappointed if i dont get to ask "what did you have?" I already know.
I think these days we know too much. So you can decorate the nursery, big deal. If you really wanted to go with pink or blue then there is plenty of time after the baby arrives seeing as most people dont even use the nursery until the baby is around 6 months old. This is entirely a personal thing though and if you need to find out for whatever reason then thats fine too but from a personal point of view, yes, i love that element of surprise!
Good question!

[redcrx]

i didnt want to know firstly because of the surprise element but mainly because at 20 weeks theres still a lot to get through before the birth.
For me, if Id known that i was having a son, Id have had his room decorated for a boy, Id have had a name chosen yes but also Id have started to picture what he'd look like, who he'd be and how Id like him to be in the furture.
Knowing that id do all this in my mind meant that should anything happen to my unborn child Id not only be losing a baby but also the whole life of his that Id built up in my head for him.
I hope that makes sense :)

[ganesh]

I wasn't given the option to know either but I would have like to have known, not just for clothes and stuff but for choosing a name. I guess some people are the type who love surprises in life,and some who just like to know as much as possible so they can plan things.I'm one of the latter.

[sair5412]

To give you something else to think about during the birth!!

And, like someone else said, what's the news for family and friend's etc? I think the surprise is good, but i can see the reasons for people wanting to know before the birth.

Very much personal preference for personal reasons.

[suzy64]

I asked and was told I was having a boy, I gave birth to a 8lb 2oz baby girl, she came home in blue clothes lol :o)

[spurslady]

I didn't have a clue what any of my 3 were until they were born. I had the same lady doing the scans most of the time and she had it as her principal not to tell people.

The last one we wouldn't have been able to tell what he was anyway because he had his legs crossed every time I had a scan.

I went on to have 3 lovely boys and the clothes thing which was great as already had the clothes. We had names for both sexes ready (each was going to be Lauren if they were a girl).

Sometimes they can be wrong someone I know was desperate for a daughter she had 4 sons the last pregnancy they told her she was having a girl, she said she didn't care that the labour hurt she was going to meet her daughter at last. But the look on her husbands face said it all when the baby was born it was a 5th son.

At the end of the day after going through all the pain of the labour and delivery you don't care what it is just as long as it healthy. My partner didn't want to know anyway he wanted it to be a surprise.

[crete]

there are very few surprises left in life now.............. not knowing the sex of your baby until the time of birth is very special!

[helliebobs]

Wardy I am currently 6 months pregnant and don't know the sex of my baby. We did ask when we had the scan but the sonographer couldn't tell for certain.
My husband really wanted to know as he hates surprises but I was undecided. We don't have a nursery to decorate as we live in a one bedroom flat, we are still arguing over names and even if we knew the sex we wouldn't necessarily rush out to buy pink or blue clothes.
At the end of the day, I don't mind the baby's sex as long as it is healthy, I'll be happy.

[sophieb]

My first (girl) was in the wrong position to tell. She was the first grand-daughter on both sides after loads of boys so both families went mad buying pink frilly stuff.The house was still crammed with it when i became pregnant 2 years later so for practical reasons I asked which sex the second time so we could decide which stuff to keep.

[robbo82]

Wardy, there's a question on Music about Bowie, just thought you'd like to know.

[##Wardy##]

The definitive answer in now in situ, thank you robbo.

[curlyfilm]

my mum wanted a girl when my brother was born, as she was a little emotional when he was born the nurse put him in a pink blanket for her

[maggie01]

It is all part of the surprise.Also as I have said before, a friend of my daughter was told she was having a girl (this was a private scan) and they decorated her room all in pink etc . Bought lots of girly clothes and when the baby was born, it was a boy. Fortunately apart from having to redecorate it made no odds to her. This could have been a different story if you were set on having a particular sex.

[Gef]

When my wife told that she knew the sex of our third (in 1983) I said I didn't want to know. I explained it was like knowing the result of an evening footie match before watching the highlights!

To be fair she never told me before the birth and in those days didn't see the point of preparing a "nursery"| in either pink or blue etc. Actually, how does a baby know what type of nursery to expect?

Imagine how humiliated suzy's wee girl felt going home dressed in blue.

Whatever you want folks. Who cares as long as everyone is fit and well.